Tire tool



July 9, 1940. T. F. SCHNEIDER TIRE TOOL Filed April 4, 1938 V PatentedJuly`9, 1940 K STATES PATENT oi-"Fioa This invention relates to tiretools, an with regard to certain more specific features, to a tire toolfor lifting tires into place for application to automobile wheels.

5 Among the several objects of, the invention may be noted the provisionof a simple tire tool for avoiding the awkward and even dangerous tirelifting that was heretofore necessary in order to make a tire change;the provision of a tool of l the claas described which permits of easyand accurate alignment between hub and wheel parts as the tire isapplied; and the provision of a device of the classl described which maybe made in portable and compact form for automobile l Mt use; Otherobjects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the'elements and combinations ofelements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which 0will be exempliedin the structures hereinafter described, and the ,scopeof the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawing, in which iso-il.- lustrated several ofvarious possible embodiments 3f, of the invention,

Fig. l is a fragmentary front elevation `illustrating the use of theportable form of the tool;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tool shown in Fig. 1 folded and ready to beplaced in an automobile `0 kit; and,

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views of 5 the drawing.

Automobile tires are now generally made in forms which are heavy, andmany of them are organized with wheels so that when a tire change ismade, the wheel. and thel tire are handled as a unit. 'I'he tire'weightis therefore increased `by the weight of the wheel.

Furthermore, only the tire and its rim were formerly applied as a unitto the wheel and a more or less general alignment was all that wasnecessary to eect assembly. Now, a relatively accurate alignment must beobtained between relatively small holes in the wheel and bolts in thehub. The greater accuracy required with the increasedweight makes itexceedingly dimcult to make a tire change.

Added to the above, modern automobiles have fenders which include a deepoverhang, requiring that a tire be irst tilted to be positioned underthe overhang, and then lifted into position.

The required movement, in view of the weight (Cl. 25d- 131) beinghandled and the accuracy of alignment required, results in greatdimculties of tire application, soiling of clothes, and sometimes injuryto the operator.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1. 5 there is shown at numeral ian automobile having a fender 3 with a deep overhang On the axle l ofthe car is the usual rotary hub e, with which are organized hub boltsil. At numeral I3 is shown a tireon a wheel l5 which carries i0 thenecessary openings which'are to cooperate with the bolts i i.

My invention comprises a lever il, on the underside of which is carrieda pair of lugs i@ or the equivalent. An axle 2l through the lugs l5supports wheel 23. Thus the lever ll is provided with a fulcrum at theaxle 2l and at the same time the tool may be easily pushed along theground. The lever extends from its handle side beyond the fulcrum i,where it is formed as a claw which is pre erably provided withserrations 2l at its front edge, and a suitable anti-skid formation 29just behind the serrations 2l.

The claw has a more or les? arcuate form in cross section, as indicatedat numeral 3| in Fig. 3 25 so asto substantially lit the aro 33 of atire edge.

It is also slightly concave, longitudinally considered, as indicated inFig. l.

AThe handle end of the lever Il is preferably flanged downwardly asindicated at 35,' and a re- 30 movable pin 3l is therein provided asindicated. An extension handle 39 is'hinged at @l to the lever ll andhas ears ttwherein are holes i5 for aligning with the pin 37 when thehandle 39 is in the extended position shown in Fig. l. 35 By removingthe pin 3l, the handle 39 may be placed in the position shown in Fig. 1.The pin is then reinserted, so that the handle forms a rigid extensionfromY the lever ll. When the tool is not in use, the pin 3l is removedand the 40 handle 39 folds over into -theposition shown in Fig. 2, andthe pin 3l is replaced. 'Ihe pin is held in position by means of acotter key el.

The tool in its folded position shown in Fig. 2 may be carried in thetool kit of the automobile. When a tire change is to be made, the nutson boltsl il are loosened, and after the handle 39 is placed in itsworking position shown in Fig. 1, the tool is slipped under the tire(the car having been jacked up). 'I'he operators one hand A op- 50erates the to'ol, while the other hand B balances the tire on the claw25. The serrations 2l aid in obtaining a purchase on the rubber tirebefore the tire is in a position to seat on the anti-skid formation 29.It is then possible to withdraw 2 the claw by backwarmmotion of the handA and at the same time to work the hand A up or down. as required, sothat the tire may clear any obstructions which cause it to hang.

After the tire (with its wheel) is oi! the hub, it is a simple matter todepress it as it passes under the overhang I, and finally to roll itlaterally on the claw 2l with hand B.

Likewise. the replacement tire to be applied (with its wheel) is rolledinto position and may be leaned against the fender I at a suitablepoint. The tool is then pushed' into position with the seri-ations 21near the edge of the tire, and by a combination rolling action of thetire and lever action of the tool, it becomes easily mounted on the claw25. Then, the hand A is advanced while the hand B adjusts the top of thetire to pass under the fender overhang I. The tire is then pushed intoposition on the hub 9, the lever action on the tool being used properlyto align the holes in the wheel I5`with the bolts Il, and to make suchfurther adjustments as are necessary to prevent hanging Lateral motionof the hand A also gives rotary motion around a vertical axis, therespective wheels 23 rotating in opposite directions. By this means,adjustments in tire positions are further facilitated. Finally, afterthe wheel has been in position on the hub, it is quite easy to, lift thehand A and withdraw the tool. 'I'he tool is then easily folded andreplaced in the tool kit.

From the above, it will be seen that the tool provides an anti-frictionmeans for moving the tire about according to various requirements. Atthe same time, the hand of the operator is not required to support thetire for making an application, and it is this requirement that resultsin lso much Ytrouble; Furthermore, the Eire changer needs not stoop orsquat into a position as was heretofore necessary in order properly toapply the body forces to'lifting the tire. With the present tool, thelifting force may be applied to the tire with a mechanical advantage.without squatting, and without injury and without soiling of theopeator's clothes.

'I'he invention not only has application to use in a tool kit for use onthe road, but also in garages and the like.

It'will be seen that the invention may be carried out in variousmaterials. For example, in the drawing (Figs. 1-3) it is made of steel.c

A feature of the shovel-like form of claw 25 which is shown in Figs. 1and 2 is that if the tire happens to be in a location where there issnow, deep dust. `gravel, or the like, the claw may be used as a meansfor clearing a track tor the backward and forward movement of the wheels21, or for other operations.

It will be seen that, since the axle 2| is located between the loadapplied by the tire and wheel (on the one hand) and the operators hand,the nechanism employs the principle of a rst-class ever.

In view of the' above, it will be'seen that the several objects of theinvention areachieved, and other advantageous resultsvattained.

As many changes could' be made in carrying out the above constructionswithout departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended thatall matter contained in the above description or shown in theaccompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in aylimiting sense.

1 claim: A

1. A tire tool comprising a lever, a fulcrum fqr the lever consisting ofsupporting rolling means, said lever having a relatively lshort concaveextension from one side of the fulcrum for fitting and supportinga tireor the like Iand another relatively longer extension on the other sideof the fulcrum, a collapsible handle hinged to said last-named extensionand adapted to be moved into collapsed position with respect to saidlever `and at least in part parallel to the short extension, and meansfor locking the collapsible handle in its extended position.

2. A rubber-tire tool comprising alever. a fulcrum for the leverconsisting of supporting rolling means, said lever having one shortextension from one side of the fulcrum for supporting a tire orthe like,said extension having a serrated edge arcuate in cross-section adaptedfor purchase on a rubber tire as the tire becomes positioned on, saidextension, said lever having a second and longer extension on ythe otherside of the fulcrum, a collapsible handle hinged to said secondextension and adapted to be collapsed into position parallel to the`short extension in connection with the said lever for storage and to bemoved into extended position when in use, and means for locking thehandle in its extended position. A

TEEODORE. F. SCHNEIDER.

